The Gyeongbu Expressway (; Asian Highway Network ) is the second oldest and most heavily travelled expressway in South Korea, connecting Seoul to Suwon, Daejeon, Gumi, Daegu, Gyeongju, Ulsan and Busan. It has the route number 1, signifying its role as South Korea's most important expressway. The entire length from Seoul to Busan is and the posted speed limit is usually , enforced primarily by speed cameras.
History Inspired by the Autobahn during a trip to Germany, South Korean President Park Chung Hee proposed the construction of the Gyeongbu Expressway as an election pledge in 1967. February 1968 - Construction begins at the behest of South Korean President Park Chung Hee, who named Park Myung-keun in charge of construction. 21 December 1968 - Seoul-Suwon segment opens to traffic. 30 December 1968 - Suwon-Osan segment opens to traffic. 29 September 1969 - Anseong-Cheonan segment opens to traffic. 10 December 1969 - Cheonan-Daejeon segment opens to traffic. 19 December 1969 - Busan-Daegu (via Gyeongju) segment opens to traffic. 7 July 1970 - The last segment, the mountainous Daejeon-Daegu segment, opens to traffic, completing South Korea's first long-distance limited access expressway. December 1987 - Work begins to widen to six lanes in selected areas. Some areas are widened to 8 or 10 lanes by 1996. February 1995 - Bus-only lane (essentially an HOV-9) established between the northern terminus and Sintanjin for important holidays. 14 July 2000 - Eight vehicles, including three buses and a five-ton truck, collide near Gimcheon, killing 18 and injuring over 100. 25 August 2001 - All expressways in South Korea reorganize under a pattern modeled after the United States' Interstate Highway System. The Gyeongbu Expressway's route number of 1 is the only one not to change; however, its kilometer markers change from a north–south progression to south–north. December 2002 - Korea National Expressway Corporation passes control of the northernmost 9 km stretch of expressway (between Yangjae and Hannam Bridge) to the City of Seoul. 1 July 2008 - Bus lane enforcement between Seoul and Osan (Sintanjin on weekends) becomes daily between 6 AM and 10 PM. On 1 October this is adjusted to 7 AM to 9 PM weekdays, 9 AM to 9 PM weekends.
Compositions Speed limit Cheonan JC ~ Yangjae IC : 110 km/h Guseo IC ~ Cheonan JC : 100 km/h
List of facilities
IC: Interchange, JC: Junction, SA: Service Area, TG: Tollgate No. Name Hangul Name Hanja Name Connections Notes Location Busan National Route 7Jungang-daero Geumjeong Busan 1 Guseo IC Beonyeong-ro 1-1 Yeongnak IC TG Busan TG 2 Nopo IC National Route 7 2-1 Nopo JC Busan Ring Expressway SA Yangsan SA Seoul-bound Only Yangsan Gyeongnam 3 Yangsan JC Jungang Expressway Branch 4 Yangsan IC National Route 35 4-1SA Tongdosa Hipass ICTongdosa SA National Route 35 Hi-pass only for Busan-bound 5 Tongdosa IC National Route 35 Ulju Ulsan 5-1 W.Ulju JC Hamyang-Ulsan Expressway 6 W.Ulsan IC(Samnam) National Route 35 7 Eonyang JC Ulsan Expressway SA Eonyang SA 8 Hwalcheon IC SA Gyeongju SA Busan-bound Only Gyeongju Gyeongbuk 9 Gyeongju IC National Route 7 () National Route 35 SA Geoncheon SA No Gas Station on Busan-bound 10 W. Gyeongju IC National Route 20 10-1 Yeongcheon JC Yeongcheon–Sangju Expressway Yeongcheon 11 Yeongcheon IC National Route 4 SA Pyeongsa SA Busan-bound only Gyeongsan SA Gyeongsan SA Seoul-bound only 12 Gyeongsan IC Local Route 919 13 E.Daegu JC Jungang Expressway Dong-gu Daegu 14 Dodong JC Iksan-Pohang Expressway 16 N.Daegu IC National Route 4 National Route 5 Sincheon-daeroSeobyeonnam-ro Buk-gu 17 Geumho JC Jungang Expressway Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway Branch 17-1 Chilgok JC Daegu Ring Expressway Chilgok Gyeongbuk 18 Chilgok Logistics IC National Route 4 19 Waegwan IC National Route 4 Local Route 79 SA Chilgok SA 20 S.Gumi IC National Route 33 Gumi 21 Gumi IC National Route 33 21-1 N.Gumi IC 22 Gimcheon JC Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway Gimcheon 22-1 E.Gimcheon IC National Route 3 SA Gimcheon SA 23 Gimcheon IC National Route 4 SA Chupungnyeong SA 24 Chupungnyeong IC National Route 4 in Chupungnyeong SA 25 Hwanggan IC National Route 4 Yeongdong Chungbuk SA Hwanggan SA 26 Yeongdong IC National Route 4 SA Geumgang SA Okcheon 27 Geumgang IC National Route 4 in Geumgang SA SA Okcheon SA 28 Okcheon IC National Route 4 29 Biryong JC Tongyeong-Daejeon Expressway Daejeon Southern Ring Expressway Dong-guDaejeon 30 Daejeon IC National Route 17KorailDaejeon Station Daedeok-gu 31 Hoedeok JC Seosan–Yeongdeok Expressway Honam Expressway Branch 31-1SA Sangseo ICSintanjin SA Hi-pass onlySeoul-bound only 32 Sintanjin IC National Route 17 SA Jugam SA Cheongju Chungbuk 33 S.Cheongju IC National Route 17CheongnamdaeDaecheong Lake 34 Cheongju JC Seosan–Yeongdeok Expressway 35 Nami JC Jungbu Expressway 36 Cheongju IC National Route 36 SA36-1 Oksan SAOksan IC Local Route 507Local Route 508 Busan-bound onlyHi-pass only 36-2 Oksan JC Asan-Cheongju Expressway SA Cheongju SA Seoul-bound only SA Cheonan Walnut SA Busan-bound only Cheonan Chungnam 37 Mokcheon IC National Route 21Independence Hall of Korea 38 Cheonan JC Nonsan-Cheonan Expressway SA Cheonansamgeori SA Seoul-bound Only 39 Cheonan IC National Route 1Local Route 23Dujeong StationCheonan Station SA Manghyang SA Busan-bound Only 39-1 N.Cheonan IC National Route 34 SA Ipjang Geobong Grape SA Seoul-bound Only 40 Anseong IC National Route 38 Anseong Gyeonggi SA Anseong SA Busan-bound Only 41 Anseong JC Pyeongtaek–Jecheon Expressway SA Anseong SA Seoul-bound Only 41-1 Namsa-Jinwi IC Local Route 23 Busan-bound Only Pyeongtaek 42 Osan IC National Route 1 Osan 42-1 Dongtan JC Capital Region 2nd Ring Expressway Pyeongtaek–Paju Expressway Hwaseong 43 Giheung-Dongtan IC National Route 43Samsung Electronics(Giheung Campus) Suwon Giheung IC National Route 43 Seoul-bound only Yongin SA Giheung SA Busan-bound only 44 Suwon·Singal IC National Route 42 45 Singal JC Yeongdong Expressway SA Jukjeon SA Seoul-bound Only TG Seoul TG Seongnam 47 Pangyo IC Local Route 23 Busan-bound Only48 Pangyo JC Seoul Ring Expressway Daewang-Pangyo IC Local Route 23 Busan-bound OnlySmall Car Only 48-1 Geumto JC Yongin-Seoul Expressway SA Seoul Underground Rendezvous SA Busan-bound Only Seocho Seoul 49 Yangjae IC National Route 47Yangjae Citizen's Forest station Seoul Yangjae-Hannam Motorway
Gyeongbu Urban Expressway
In the past, this section was a part of Gyeongbu Expressway, but in 2002 the Seoul Metropolitan Government has takes control of this segment from Korea Expressway Corporation. As a results, this expressway became a part of Seoul Special Metropolitan Route 06. However, the name remains the same, on Traffic Broadcasting System, it is still called Gyeongbu Expressway or the name "Sigugan", and this section is also designated as Asian Highway 1.
Main stopovers Seoul Seocho District - Gangnam District
Speed limit Maximum 80 km/h Minimum: 50 km/h
No. Name Hangul name Distance Total distance Connection Location Notes Directly connected with Gyeongbu Expressway 49 Yangjae 양재 - 0.00 Gyeongbu ExpresswayNational Route 47 (Yangjae-daero)Yangjae-daero 12-gilSeoul City Route 41 (Heolleung-ro) Seoul Seocho District 50 Seocho 서초 2.56 2.56 Seoul City Route 92 (Nambu Beltway) 51 Banpo 반포 2.28 4.84 Sapyeong-daero 52 Jamwon 잠원 0.74 5.58 Sinbanpo-ro 53 Hannamdaegyo Br. 한남대교분기점 1.28 6.86 Hannam-daeroSeoul City Route 41 (Gangnam-daero)Seoul City Route 88 (Olympic-daero)Apgujeong-ro·Jamwon-ro Gangnam District Connected with Gangnam-daero
See also Roads and expressways in South Korea Transport in South Korea
References
External links KEC (Korea Expressway Corporation) MOLIT South Korean Government Transport Department